The persistent need exists for more convenient, economical and efficient bottle carriers in the soft drink industry. In particular, there is a need for improved carriers for the one liter, thin wall, resilient bottles now coming into wide usage. The present invention seeks in particular to satisfy this latter need.
Among the significant improvement features embodied in the invention are compactness and minimum bulk and weight in a strong and durable molded plastics unit which can be nested and stacked in two orthogonal directions. A further feature resides in individual separated and tapered bottle cells depending from a sturdy top frame having a center handle bar flush with the top edge of the frame and forming the anchor for the two inner rows of legs or struts forming the cells.
Other important features include bottle centering bases for the cells carried by the depending struts and cell dividers which are curved to assist in bottle centering by a cam-like action. Opposite end paired stacking projections at the bottom of the carrier allow easy longitudinal stacking, while bottom channel recesses facilitate cross stacking and interlocking with like carriers. The carrier is also constructed for ease of separation without binding when nested.
Other features of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following detailed description.
Many types of bottle carriers made from various materials exist in the prior art but none of these possesses the above-noted features of the present invention and none has the flexibility of use possessed by the invention. Nestable and stackable carriers are also known in the prior art but not in terms of a bottle carrier having the other noted features and functional capabilities of this invention.
The below-listed prior United States patents of some general interest are made of record herein under 37 C.F.R. 1.56:
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,889,072, 3,191,796, 3,319,799, 3,420,402, 3,587,915, 3,991,879, 4,040,517.